Scaffolding is employed extensively in the building industry to form elevated work platforms that are used both on the interior and the exterior of construction projects so that tradesmen can perform various tasks, such as carpentry, welding, framing, and painting. It is, thus, of primary importance that scaffolds, and especially the scaffold flooring, be safe and secure to protect both the workmen on the platform and the laborers below.
In general, scaffolds include tubular metal end frames connected together by metal cross braces to form a rectangular unit. According to current practice, wooden floor planks are then laid side by side supported on opposite ends by the end frames to provide an elevated walkway. It is common practice to make the length of these floor boards longer than the space between the end frames. This is undesirable as the boards can shift position and fall from the platform and also because the boards are not mounted for maximum load bearing capacity. It is also common for tradesmen to obtain a number of boards commonly known as 2.times.4's and to nail them together with short pieces of 2.times.4 trimmings between the longer boards. This solution is less than optimal as it is not uncommon for the boards to separate from each other, thus, causing a potentially dangerous situation. In addition, once a scaffold floor such as this has been constructed, it is common practice for the tradesmen to transport it to a number of job sites. General contractors will often regard this as stealing and in addition, this causes a roadway hazard as often fourteen foot long boards will protrude beyond several feet of the tailgate of a pick-up truck. Another drawback to this system resides in the fact that often times constructing the scaffold flooring as described renders the wood unsuitable for use elsewhere on the job site.
Various attempts have been made to overcome the foregoing drawbacks and deficiencies. For example, the U.S. Pat. No. 3,854,552 to Kensrue discloses a scaffold planking clamp that includes separate clamping devices for the ends of each plank. Each clamping device includes a clamping bar on the underside of the plank that is arranged to engage the scaffold cross-member. Under the surface of the planking is a manually operable screw and nut means that activates the plank edge engaging members carried by the nut so as to force them to clampingly coact with the clamping bar to securely anchor the plank to the cross-member. This device, while accomplishing the objective of securing the planking to the scaffolding is less then an ideal solution as it is a relatively complex mechanism and would, therefore, be time consuming to set-up at the job site.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,569,450 to Bouton discloses a clamp which may be employed for securing together boards forming the floor of a scaffold to form a floor thereon. The clamp is adapted to secure together in a side by side relation, a plurality of boards forming the scaffold floor. The clamp comprises an upper bar and a lower bar that are hinged together at one end. At the other end is a clamping means 14 for drawing the bars into a clamped position. The clamping means may be a rigid collar slidable along the bars with a clamping bolt threaded in the lower section thereof and which is screwed into engagement with the underside of the bar 11. As the clamping bolt is tightened, the collar is drawn into firm engagement with the upper side of the bar and the two bars are moved to clamp the planks between them. The Bouton clamp is also less than ideal as it is a relatively complex device with a number of moving parts which is, therefore, somewhat difficult to produce.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,187,929 to Cyr discloses a scaffold stabilizer clamp which comprises an elongate flat steel strip which is formed into a C-shape so as to have an upper plate member and a lower plate member. The plate members are provided with a correspondingly located and spaced pairs of holes, each pair which is adapted to receive a bolt and wing nut to tighten the ends of the plate members after wooden planks of the desired width are inserted between the plate members to form the platform of the scaffold. This clamp is also not without its drawbacks as it requires a wing nut and bolt which may easily be lost in order to be operable.
In view of the foregoing, it is an object of the present invention to provide a scaffold flooring clamp that is safe.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a scaffold flooring clamp that is easy to use and is easily transportable.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a scaffold flooring clamp in which the flooring lumber remains usable after the scaffold has been dismantled.
A still further object is to provide a scaffold flooring clamp that is simple to manufacture.
A still further object is to provide a scaffold bracket that uses the most common and available type and size of lumber on any residential or commercial job site.
Yet another object is to provide a scaffold flooring in which the floor boards are mounted for maximum load bearing capacity.
Yet another object is to provide a scaffold flooring clamp without moving parts and which is self-contained.